The present invention relates to the cleaning of medical devices in an apparatus with a receptacle for receiving the medical device. The receptacle comprises an upper inlet for inserting the medical device through the inlet into the receptacle. For cleaning the medical device, the receptacle is filled with a fluid.
Reusable medical devices, such as endoscopes, probes, catheters or the like, for at least partly introducing into a patient's body generally have to be cleaned after use and/or before being applied again. The term `cleaning` as used herein shall comprise any kind of freeing the device from contamination such as cleansing, disinfecting or sterilizing.
Various apparatus for cleaning endoscopes are disclosed e.g. in EP-A-0038168, FR-A-2705896, and DE-A-3334999. U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,841 discloses a washing/sterilizing apparatus for an endoscope comprising a receptacle adapted to receive the endoscope, means for supplying the receptacle with a disinfection fluid, means for supplying the receptacle with a rising fluid, and removing means for removing any fluid from the receptacle.
FIG. 1 depicts an apparatus 5 for cleaning transesophageal echo (TEE) probes 10 as disclosed in EP-A-0862894 by the same applicant and inventors. Transesophageal echo (TEE) cardiography is an established technique in the area of cardiac imaging and involves the insertion of an ultrasound TEE probe into a subject's esophagus to scan the heart from inside the esophagus. For cleaning the TEE probe 10, the TEE probe is inserted through an upper rim 15, as an inlet of a receptacle 20, into the receptacle 20 (such as a tube) of the TEE probe tester 5. The receptacle 20 is provided with a first inlet 30 for supplying a disinfection fluid into the receptacle 20, a second inlet 40 for supplying a rinsing fluid into the receptacle 20, and a first outlet 50 for removing any fluid from the receptacle 20. The receptacle 20 might further be coupled with an insulation tester 60 providing a first contact 70 within the receptacle 20 and a second contact 80 to be connected with an electrical shielding 90 of the TEE probe 10.
The first inlet 30 may be coupled via a first controller 100 to a first tank 110 containing the disinfection fluid, the second inlet 40 may be coupled via a second controller 120 to a second tank 130 containing the rinsing fluid, and the first outlet 50 may be coupled via a third controller 140 to a third tank 150 for receiving the disinfection fluid and/or the rinsing fluid. The third tank 150 may also receive only the rinsing fluid, and the disinfection fluid is removed back into the first tank 110 and may be exchanged occasionally, e.g., after 10 days. The receptacle 20 may also comprise a fourth outlet coupled to a fourth tank for receiving the disinfection fluid after use. More details and embodiments of the apparatus 5 are readily applicable from EP-A-0862894.
Although the TEE probe tester 5 of FIG. 1 provides an excellent tool for cleaning medical devices, it has been proved to become difficult to insert the medical devices into the receptacle 20 without touching the rim 15. This, however, might lead to a contamination of the rim 15 and thus to a re-contamination of the medical device 10 when it touches the rim 15 during removal from the receptacle 20 after being cleaned.